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[January 26, 2000]
Sometimes I want to run screaming, sometimes I'm excited and engaged here, so I am both sad and elated that we are about to leave, tomorrow morning at 5am from our hotel.
Net access is at least twice as expensive here, and we did not bring our laptop with us. Lacking the luxury of at-home composing of e-mail (in India I was writing at home then bringing what I wrote to the Net place on a disk), I have been less productive of prose. I wopn't try to make up for that all at once, bit here at least are some images of Colombo that have been passed before my mind's and/or head's eyes:
Traffic: Colombo's traffic is ugly, which the auto-rickshaw (three-wheeled tiny "taxis") drivers use as an excuse for high prices when bargaining. But then, they always have an excuse for the outrageous amount some of them ask upon seeing me or detecting Jeyanthy's recent overseas origins. Mostly cars here, and some buses and auto-rickshaws. Relatively few motorcycles, and almost no bicycles, very unlike India.
Advertising: Most striking was the 3M ad covering a bus, for a window glass film to help protect against "bombs, exlposions" etc. Guess the ad designers saw "terrorist" attacks and made them into an opportunity. Yugh.
Food: Here, Pizza Hut (the only place I had a real salad--the pizza, however, was not good) and McDonalds are upscale. We went for the air conditioning.
Contrasts: One day we paid 75 Rs. for breakfast (at a busy little restaurant), and 1600 for dinner (at a fancy hotel restaurant). And these are definitely not the edges of what you can pay for a meal. The sad part, is that for the most part breakfast was better. Again, a/c and our comfort for the meeting we were having were paramount.
Sunset: We haven't stopped much to enjoy the views etc., but one night walking down the lane to our hotel, we saw the amazing colors in the sky (yes, probably due in part to pollution) and stole ten minutes to go down across the train tracks to the beach (actually rocks there) and watch the sun settle into the darkening ocean. You'll get to see pictures later, but of course it's not the same...
Art: A few days ago we were on our way somewhere and I saw a couple of paintings. I called Jeyanthy over, and soon after we realized that we were standing at the edge of a street-long exhibit of (more than 100!) Sri Lankan artists, a once-a-year happening which we happily took some time out for.
More traffic: Somehow (maybe it's the censorship) the war is remarkably invisible here, but one afternoon we did see four tanks (actually, they had wheels, so maybe they were technically armored cars?) rolling down Galle Road. We also read an article describing how they send ambulances with the war-wounded along the streets late at night (the article also described the author's acquaintance following along behind as a strategy to get to a club on time).
Language: Tamils generally appreciate the few words I know. I'm frustrated at the general dearth of Tamil as one travels around the city; I get much less chance to practice here than I do in Tamil Nadu. And no, I am not starting on Sinhala. I also would like to learn some gracious ways of explaining that I have trouble with the local English accent (no doubt this problem is often reciprocal).
More language/religion: How to tell if your auto-driver is Hindu or Buddhist -- look at the row of deities (at least a 50% chance of being there) on the dashboard or above the windshield and see if the Buddha is there. [I made a note about this in my Palm Pilot, and the next auto- we got in proved me wrong. His row of deities included a Buddha, but he spoke Tamil, i.e. was probably Hindu. ah well] Caring about this actually does have a practical reason--Jeyanthy's Tamil is fine, but Sinhala almost non-existent, so it's easier to communicate if they know Tamil.
NGO/activist burnout: These people, often working with those most affected by the war, are often tired, cynical, and ready to give up. Yet they keep going. Good chance that upon returning here we will try to catalyze the creation of support groups, hold burnout/rhope-restoring workshops etc.
Running into people (no one hurt): For the first time in Sri Lanka (for that matter this has never happened to me in India), I'm running into people I know. Early in the trip, we saw cousin Bharathi's dad in the hotel corridor, he was just coming back from the U.S., and we saw him again this week, along with his wife (also just coming in from U.S.) and son (just coming in from medical school in Russia). At the art exhibit, we saw a guy we talked with at the U.S. embassy when we checked in there. Just now at dinner at the mall food court, a friend of our friend Gana here noticed us and stopped by our table to say hi. This is a good sign. I can survive anywhere that I'll serendipitously meet up with people I know with some frequency.
Getting out of Colombo: We didn't, despite considering Trincomalee (where a Father offering Non-Violent Communication workshops lives), Batticaloa (where Bharathi's parents, and a lot of hopeful NGO work is going on), and Kataragama (a trip to the multi-religious shrines etc. there we wanted to make with some relatives--Manichitti and Chitappa--who will probably be gone next time we come). And of course Jaffna, which despite all the fighting news you may be hearing is still getting flights to and from regularly.
We just generated leads on interesting people faster than we could meet them. When we had three days left we had a half-page of what we wanted to do. So we extended our trip by three days, and when those three days were all that was left we had a *full* page of things we still wanted to do. Boredom will not happen when we come back. But we will *have* to get out of Colombo, for our own sanity, and to avoid getting stuck in the Colombo-centric perspectives that prevail here.
So, this comet starts back from perigee (or is that apogee?) toward the cold outer reaches (it's winter in the U.S.--how far can I stretch this metaphor I started my first message with?). I look forward to getting home, after planetary encounters in India with amma and appa, relatives there, more interviews and work with Ceylon Tamil refugees in Madras, and another stop in New Jersey/New York for our friends Robert & Michelle's wedding.
Hope this message finds you well. Thanks for all your kind comments re Sluggo, especially if I have not responded to your message yet; Theya says he is back home and doing well (thanks Theya, and Monica & Miki!).
Peace and life,
John